West Hollywood's Creative Triennium: 2025-2028 outlines an authentic and bespoke vision for citywide cultural programming that centers artistic excellence and community engagement. The intent of this project is to create an immersive experience-cultural activity everywhere, all the time, and center the City of West Hollywood as a cultural hub during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Whenever a resident leaves their home, or a visitor steps outside their hotel, they will experience something unexpected.
The plans for the Creative Triennium serves as a strategic framework to guide the City's cultural programming in the lead up to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Creative Triennium is designed to establish a clear tone and set of expectations while expanding the city's capacity to deliver impactful arts and cultural initiatives. Certain components will begin implementation in 2026 and are intended to create a legacy beyond 2028. Projects vary in scope and format-some will involve extended installations, others may unfold as pert of a series and select initiatives will be presented as standalone projects aligned with significant sporting or cultural milestones during the plan's implementation period.
PROCESS
On April 1, 2024, City Council approved a RFP for a consultant to provide community outreach and engagement services for a West Hollywood Art Project during the 2028 Summer Olympics. AEA Consulting was selected from the RFP process conducted for agencies/firms to help guide this effort and outreach. In the summer of 2024, the City of West Hollywood embarked on a visioning and planning process with AEA Consulting to plan for arts and culture events, experiences, and activities to take place during the 2028 Games with the intention to position West Hollywood as an arts and cultural hub during the 2028 Games by showcasing the city’s creative identity through innovative arts programming. The consulting team for this project was led by consultants Laura Zucker and Bella Stenvall from AEA Consulting. Additional details about the Community Engagement process can be found below.
On April 24, 2025, the Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission approved the Cultural Art Plan 2025-2028 and recommended City Council approval. The plans for West Hollywood's Creative Triennium: 2025-2028 will be presented to City Council on June 23, 2025.
With several major sporting events planned to occur in Los Angeles drawing sizeable audiences, activating artistic programming around these moments and potentially others will allow for the city to build momentum, experiment, and capture the energy and media attention surrounding them. Five art activations are planned from 2026-2027 leading up to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games including:
- Discofoot – a blend of choreography, dance culture, music and soccer, to celebrate the 2026 World Cup. West Hollywood will serve as the destination for the U.S. premiere.
- Custom mural artworks on the outdoor basketball courts in city parks as the 2026 NBA All Star Game will be held at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
- Partnership with neighboring cities to utilize Santa Monica Boulevard, historic Route 66, as a temporary public art corridor, in celebration of Route 66 100th year anniversary in 2026. Feature a series of artist designed street signs, site-specific public art installations, murals, and/or temporary art performances along historic Route 66, reflecting the themes of travel, connection, and cultural exchange – mirroring the Olympic spirit – in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Route 66.
- Present a LGBTQ+ marching band that reinterprets halftime traditions with bold costumes and choreography that reflect West Hollywood’s creative spirit, to celebrate the return of the Super Bowl in 2027 to Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles.
- Host a Mural Festival in the city to support temporary artworks on private businesses, a recommendation from the City Council approved 2024 Economic Study and recently adopted Rainbow District initiative. All murals installed in 2027 will remain on view through 2028.
In the summer of 2024, the City of West Hollywood embarked on a visioning and planning process with AEA Consulting to plan for arts and culture events, experiences, and activities to take place during the 2028 Games with the intention to position West Hollywood as an arts and cultural hub during the 2028 Games by showcasing the city’s creative identity through innovative arts programming. The consulting team for this project was led by Laura Zucker and Bella Stenvall.
On October 24, 2024, the Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission unanimously approved the theme Inventing Traditions to be explored in the community engagement sessions. This thematic framework provided a porous structure for the consultant to discuss the arts and culture events, experiences, and activities as it related to individuals and organizations across genres, and it universally resonated with the public, artists and businesses who participated in the sessions. The thematic framework for the Art Project was presented to City Council on November 18, 2024, in a staff report with an update on the City’s 2024 Paris Olympics Delegation and planning for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In November 2024, AEA Consulting initiated a comprehensive engagement process to invite the community to weigh in on the thematic framework and possible criteria for the arts and culture events, experiences, and activities presented in 2028. As part of this process, AEA developed the goals, objectives, and desired outcomes of public engagement, key messaging to communicate the thematic framework, a schedule and format of the public engagement sessions, and key questions related to the thematic framework and selection criteria.
Through the community engagement sessions, the city interacted with over 400 community members, artists, arts organizations, and cultural venues through in-person sessions, the city’s Engage WeHo website, and a virtual community meeting. Three artists were invited to lead community engagement sessions, each using their creative practices to ignite dialogue and foster connection. Pickle, West Hollywood Drag Laureate, engaged the public through in-person interviews in the Rainbow District and at the farmers’ market. City Poet Laureate Jen Cheng invited reflection through a multidisciplinary storytelling session during West Hollywood Day, while Odious Ari brought humor and music to the Winter Wonderland event with a participatory children’s performance centered on tradition and the Olympic spirit. These artist-led moments created meaningful entry points for community voices. The Engage WeHo website continues to serve as the central hub for updates, feedback, opportunities, and event information.
In-Person Community Conversations
October 24, 2024 - Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission meeting
November 11, 2024 - Helen Albert Certified Farmers' Market (Plummer Park)
November 18, 2024 - Helen Albert Certified Farmers' Market (Plummer Park)
November 18, 2024 - City Council meeting
November 21, 2024 - West Hollywood Day event (Pacific Design Center)
January 24, 2025, 10am - Creative Community Outreach session (West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room)
January 24, 2025, 2pm - Creative Community Outreach session (West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room)
January 25, 2025 - Winter Wonderland event (West Hollywood Park)
April 24, 2025 - Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission meeting
Virtual Community Conversation
January 28, 2025 - Creative Community Outreach session (Zoom)
The City worked with AEA Consulting to establish a plan (purpose, goals, and vision) for the Cultural Art Plan 2025-2028 in preparation for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. A series of community engagement sessions took place from November 2024 through February 2025.
The AEA Consulting team for this project was led by Laura Zucker and Bella Stenvall. Laura Zucker is a nationally recognized arts leader whose expertise spans grant making, cultural equity, cultural policy, capital project master planning, arts education, public art, cultural tourism, management, and funding strategies. Bella Stenvall is invested into embedding arts and culture into the choreography of public life as a means of social change and applies an interdisciplinary approach to strategy development, qualitative research design, and data analysis while centering values of equity and inclusion.
AEA Consulting was selected through a RFP process for agencies/firms to help guide this effort and outreach.
For updates and information related to the City of West Hollywood’s preparations for the Games visit weho.org/OLYMPICS.